Managing the patient with pulmonary hypertension: specialty care centers, coordinated care, and patient support.

Pulmonary hypertension remains a challenging condition to diagnose and manage. Decentralized care for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has led to shortcomings in the diagnosis and management of PAH. The Pulmonary Hypertension Association-sponsored Pulmonary Hypertension Care Center program is designed to recognize specialty centers capable of providing multidisciplinary and comprehensive care of PAH. Ideally, Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers will comanage PAH patients with community-based practitioners and address the growing needs of this emerging population of long-term PAH patients